Tripura Elections 2023: Everything you need to know about polls in this northeastern state

Tripura is set for triangular contest in the Assembly elections Thursday. This year, a total of 259 candidates are in the fray for the 60-member Assembly. The last bastion of the Communists, that fell in 2018, is likely to witness a fierce contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the CPM-Congress alliance and the local TIPRA Motha. Polls will be held in a single phase and results will be declared on March 2. Tripura is the first of the three northeastern states going to polls this year. Nagaland and Meghalaya will go to polls on February 27.    

The 2018 Assembly elections were historic for Tripura. The state decided to vote out the ruling Left Front government, which had been in power since 1993, ousting Manik Sarkar as chief minister, who served the post from 1998 to 2018. . Manik Sarkar's place was taken by Biplab Kumar Deb as the BJP won a majority, 36 out of 60 seats. Tripura, under Biplab Kumar Deb, kept making the news.

In 2022, eight BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs resigned and left the BJP, of which four joined TIPRA, three joined the Congress, and one joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC). On May 14, 2022, the man who had replaced Manik Sarkar resigned from the post and was replaced by another Manik -- Manik Saha, a doctor by training. 

BJP vs an incongruous opposition 

The CPM-led Left front held sway over Tripura for nearly 25 years, leading the state to be dubbed a 'red holdout'. But with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs, the BJP swung into power last polls. This year, BJP's focus is going to be retaining its sway over the electorate. The Communists, on the other hand, have allied with the Congress, in what seems to be a desperate bid to retain some degree of relevance within Tripura's political framework. PM Modi had referred to the incongruities of the Left-Congress alliance at a recent poll rally when he said the CPM and Congress engage in 'kushti' in Kerala but do 'dosti' in Tripura. 

Prominent leaders

All the political parties in the fray have put out their best possible candidates for the contest. For the BJP, the party is betting on the incumbent Chief Minister Manik Saha. Saha took the charge of state party's president in 2020. A surgeon by profession, Manik Saha had left Congress to join BJP in 2016. 

Pratima Bhaumik is another the prominent candidate from the BJP.  She is the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment who lost to former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar of CPM twice from the Dhanpur constituency. This year, she may have an advantage, as Manik Sarkar is not contesting the election. 

Incumbent Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma and the current chairman of the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) is also one of promising candidates. He will contest from his home turf of Charilam. 

The Congress is fielding its five-time MLA Sudip Roy Burman, who has served the state as Health and Family Welfare Minister of Tripura. He has never lost from the Agartala Assembly constituency since 1998. Currently, he is the lone Congress-sitting MLA in the three northeastern states going to polls this month. He had won the 2018 Tripura Assembly polls on a BJP ticket but joined Congress last year.

Jitendra Chaudhury, a top tribal leader and former MP, has emerged as the new face of the left in Tripura, after Manik Sarkar. He was named CPM's Tripura secretary and is contesting the Sabroom seat in the 2023 Assembly polls.

How parties wooed voters

Political parties have gone all out to woo the voters and gain their trust. In wake of assembly elections, they have made many promises to the voters in their manifestoes. 

BJP has promised more autonomy to the tribal areas amid a demand for a separate state, a meal at Rs 5, an amount of Rs 50,000 to EWS families on the birth of a girl-child, a scooty to meritorious college going girls, smartphones to 50,000 meritorious students, two free LPG cylinders to the beneficiaries of PM Ujjwala Yojana, land pattas to all eligible landless citizens, financial assistance of Rs 3,000 per year to landless farmers, annual financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to ST families, and establishment of Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Tribal University in Gandacherra to research, promote and preserve tribal culture and studies.

CPM, in its manifesto promised to restore of 'democratic, political and religious rights', 200-day work to the poor under MGNREGA, bring back the Old Pension Scheme, 2.5 lakh new jobs in government, semi-government and private sectors in next five years, free electricity upto 50 units per family, two DA hikes for government employees every year based on consumer price index, reinstatement of the 10,323 suspended teachers, regularisation of services of contractual employees, maximum possible autonomy to the tribal council, social pension to seniors citizens earning under Rs 1 lakh per year, ban on privatisation of educational institutions and land allotment to landless people.

The Congress has promised to restore old pension scheme for government employees, free 150 units of electricity. 50,000 new jobs will be created for agriculture labourers, DA hike twice a year for government employees, wages of tea cultivators and farmers will be increased based on consumer price index, and 50,000 new government jobs will be created in the next 5 years to count a few. 

TIPRA Motha Party, in its manifesto, promised 20,000 fresh jobs and opportunities, land allotment to deprived people, setting up of a Tribal University, Agriculture University, Sports University and Buddhist University, resolution against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in state assembly, socio-economic survey of all tribes, packaged food awareness campaign through state-run schemes, Rights for LGBTQ individuals, and 30% subsidies for entrepreneurship.

Candidates and voters

Altogether 28.13 lakh voters including 13.53 lakh women will decide the fate of 259 aspirants, of whom 20 are women.

BJP is contesting in 55 seats while its ally IPFT has fielded candidates in six constituencies, which means one constituency will witness a friendly fight. The CPM is contesting 47 seats while its alliance partner Congress is fighting in 13 constituencies. The TIPRA Motha has candidates in 42 seats, while the TMC has fielded nominees in 28 constituencies. Apart from them there are 58 independent candidates.